Ashley Young flops with 3/10 – Everton player ratings v Manchester City
Everton extended their winless run in the Premier League to seven matches as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Saturday 10 February.
The Toffees once again put in a hard-working defensive display to try and steal a point from the Etihad Stadium but were unable to withstand the pressure as a double from Erling Haaland ensured the Champions continued their winning run.
Defeat leaves Everton stranded in the dropzone and the gap to Premier League safety could be extended if Luton Town can win their relegation six-pointer with Sheffield United later on Saturday.
Goodison News have rated the Everton players out of 10;
Jordan Pickford – 6
A surprisingly quiet outing for the Everton number one as he barely had a save to make during the opening 45 minutes. Little he could do for the opening goal as it was thundered in but would have been disappointed to not keep it out having got a hand to it and could do nothing for the second.
Ben Godfrey – 6
The versatile defender was given an early run around by Jeremy Doku and had to be at his best to keep the Belgian winger quiet. Manchester City had plenty of the ball in the wide areas, but Godfrey managed to make it difficult for them to be too effective out of possession. Was subbed off early in the second half with an injury, but put in a steady display.
James Tarkowski – 8
Everton’s captain on the day and once against the centre-back put in another skippers’ display. Put in a number of huge tackles to deny the likes of Phil Foden and Erling Haaland. He did all he could to keep the ball out in the lead-up to City’s opening goal and his display at the back certainly was deserving of at least a point for the Toffees.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 6
Like his centre-back partner, Branthwaite was excellent throughout the game and managed to thwart Guardiola’s side with a number of calm and measured defensive interventions. Deserved a clean sheet and could do little about Haaland’s opener but simply had to be stronger to try and stop the second goal as he was flattened by the City striker. A rough end to an otherwise superb performance.
Vitaliy Mykolenko – 6
The Ukrainian managed to find himself in a number of good attacking positions in the opening exchanges. Worked hard out of possession and had his hands full with Phil Foden, but didn’t really have a huge impact, especially after Kyle Walker was introduced.
Ashley Young – 3
Once again deployed in a more advanced role ahead of Godfrey and looked to pose a threat with his delivery into the area. However, the 38-year-old was repeatedly wasteful on the ball and did very little to impact proceedings. His involvement in the game faded quite quickly and he should have arguably been substituted earlier.
James Garner – 6
Like every other Everton player, the 22-year-old had a lot more to do without the ball than he did in possession. Retained the ball well on the rare occasion he had it as his feet and was workmanlike like Gueye for much of the game. Was a bit too slow to get out to Haaland for the Norwegian’s goal.
Idrissa Gueye – 7
After an excellent display against Tottenham, the midfielder once again managed to break up play excellently with a number of huge defensive interventions out of possession. Put himself under pressure with a booking in the second half and faded slightly.
Dwight McNeil – 6
He may not have done much in the final third as most supporters have come to expect, but McNeil put in a defensive shift that was incredibly important to the Toffees. When he did venture forward, his delivery into the area was incredibly threatening and it was a much better performance than he managed against Tottenham.
Jack Harrison – 4
Like he was against Tottenham, Harrison looked ineffective in the more central role as he struggled to have a major impact on proceedings. He didn’t have much of the ball to work with, but when he did get possession he seemed to always lose it.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5
Was never going to have much of the ball against the Premier League champions. Wasted an excellent chance to break with an overhit chipped effort that failed to lob Ederson or find the feet of McNeil who made a good run down the outside flank. Was important defensively from set pieces as he showed he was worth more than just goals to the Toffees, but never looked like scoring.
Substitutes
Seamus Coleman – 6
Beto – 6
Amadou Onana – 6
Lewis Dobbin – N/A
Youseff Chermiti – N/A
Relegation real possibility for Everton after Manchester City defeat
The long and short of it at the moment for Everton is that relegation is becoming a genuine possibility, this result ensures that Dyche’s side will be spending another weekend in the drop zone.
As was the case against Tottenham, Everton were excellent defensively, but never looked like scoring themselves and that will have been a huge concern for Dyche and the Toffees supporters watching.
Performances are all well and good, but results need to start going the Blues way sooner rather than later.
In other Everton news, Simon Jordan and Martin Keown have clashed live on air over Young labelling him “Peter Pan”
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